Happy Thanksgivingukkah: Our Dream Thanksgiving Dinner List

Since tomorrow is the first known Thanksginukkah, a combination of Thanksgiving and Hanukah, in the modern calendar, we thought we'd post an entry for the occasion with the 16 people we'd most like to have for dinner. Of course, as you'll soon see, many of the people mentioned here may have problems sitting beside each other. But, that would, of course, make the occasion which is highly unlikely to ever happen all the more ironic and enjoyable.


Here we go:

1. Cong. Morgan Griffith (R-Va, pictured top)

2. Michael Moore (a liberal documentarian)

3. Bruce Tinsley (a conservative cartoonist of "Mallard Fillmore" fame)

4. Keith Knight (a liberal cartoonist of "Knight Life" and "K-Chronicles" fame)

5. Rudolf Bekink (Dutch ambassador to America)

6. Clarence Thomas (the most conservative Supreme Court justice)

7. Sonja Sotomayor (one of the most liberal Supreme Court justices)

8. Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC)

9. Parker Posey  (film/stage actress perhaps best-known for "Waiting for Guffman;" pictured center)

10. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va)

11. Joe Lieberman, a former member of the U.S. Senate, though he was a Democrat for three of his four terms it seems like he is more popular amongst Republicans.

12. Joan Baez, popular '60s folk singer

13. Abdullah Antepli, a Turkish man who is the first imam for Muslim students at Duke University.

14. Gwen Ifill, the PBS moderator of "Washington Weekly."

15. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn., considered to be one of the most liberal members of the Senate)

16. Namik Tan (Turkish ambassador to America; pictured bottom)

http://www.kchronicles.com

http://www.joanbaez.com

http://www.vashington.be.mfa.gov.tr

http://www.dc.the-netherlands.org

http://www.morgangriffith.house.gov/

http://www.hagan.senate.gov

Happy Chanukah from Lolek and Bolek

We're not sure how popular the Polish cartoon characters Lolek and Bolek were in Israel, but they were the only cartoon that was allowed on Iranian television after the infamous Islamic Revolution of 1979.

Like the Belgian comic book character Tintin, the boys frequently traveled around the world in their mischievious adventures, including voyages to the Amazon, the Orient and the American Wild West (ironic considering the cartoon was made during the Iron Curtain years).

I happen to be a big fan of Lolek and Bolek (which I used to mistakenly call Olek and Bolek) because I watched the cartoon quite frequently when our family lived in Czestochowa, Poland, (pronounced Chestahova) when we lived there as my father was working at a steel mill as part of a joint effort with General Electric in 1976.

Czestochowa is a city of 240,000 that is best known for being featured in the religious iconic painting "The Black Madonna of Czestochowa."

Lolek and Bolek were created by animator Wladyslaw Nehrbecki (1923-1978) and the characters were based on his two sons. It is available through Netflix in the United States.

SIDEBAR: Not every theatre in the country is performing Christmas plays, as Playmakers Rep in Chapel Hill, NC, is currently performing the Donald Margulies play "Shipwrecked," an adventure story that takes place in Victorian England from now until Dec. 19.

Happy Hannukah from Donnie and Marie Osmond

I thought it would be a bit ironic to have an image of Donnie and Marie Osmond for the Jewish holiday since the brother and sister duo are Mormons from Utah.

Donnie got politically active by endorsing Republican Mitt Romney for president, which may have helped the former governor of Mass. get a staggering 87 percent of the vote for the Republican Utah Primary, but we all know that Sen. John McCain got the nomination and then lost to Barack Obama, who I voted for. ( I suspect Donnie and Marie didn't, but Utah is not a swing state!).

If you want to see Donnie and Marie perform, you're in luck!

Amazingly enough, they have a popular show in Las Vegas (how ironic is that!). VIP lounge tickets are a 'mere' $285!